SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A vacant building consumed by fire over the weekend is suspected to have been started by people seeking shelter on a cold night, according to the NWT Fire Marshal.

Above, firefighters pour water onto flames visible through a hole in the roof of an abandoned house on 50 Avenue around 2 a.m. Saturday. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo The Franklin Avenue building was heavily damaged. The building, located at 5608 Franklin Avenue and between the Larga Kitikmeot Boarding Home and Centre for Northern Families was believed to be unoccupied during the fire. The NWT - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

On Monday, Chucker Dewar said the fire at 5608 Franklin Ave., which has since been pulled down, is still under investigation. He said so far it appears trespassers started the fire. No one was injured.

"There was forced entry and trespassing was occurring by some individuals," said Dewar, reminding building owners that taking preventable measures to keep squatters out is required by the National Fire Code of Canada. "At this point it is undetermined. It is suspicious of course because there was no power to this structure and nothing to ignite a fire. That was basically what leads to suspicion."

The Office of the Fire Marshal is typically called to investigate a fire when a cause is undetermined, he said. The Yellowknife Fire Department was unable to come up with an explanation for the fire midnight on Saturday morning when members responded to fight the fire, triggering an investigation. Dewar said an investigation assisted by the RCMP determined the fire was likely caused by squatters. He said boards over the windows and doors failed to prevent trespassers.

"Indicators at the scene lead us to suspect the fire originated on the main floor of the structure," he said. "We have found some indication of either cooking or heating from inside the structure because we found some propane bottles and things like that."

Dentist Hazem Kobaisy bought the property last April with plans for a future housing project. He said he had been in the process of completing a demolition permit for the building with the city. The structure was to come down in the near future because it was already in irreparable condition. He said he had faced numerous trespassing attempts from people seeking shelter but did what he could to board it up.

"It was a shock," said Kobaisy when he learned of the fire. "It was boarded up but we have had problems with people breaking in and going in there. We kept going back about six or seven times and boarding it up even more. But if people want to get in, they're going to get in regardless of what we do. "

The city issued a news release Saturday morning about the fire, stating a call came into emergency dispatch from an area resident shortly after midnight when black smoke was pouring out of the building. Members of the fire division responded with an aerial pumper truck and a medic.

However Dewar said the fire was well-advanced at that point. He said firefighters could not gain entry and had to fight the fire "from a defensive posture" outside the structure. Additional firefighters and equipment had to be brought for backup, which gave the division 14 firefighters and four vehicles to battle the blaze, according to the release.

Weather conditions were windy and fire crews took precautionary measures to prevent the blaze from spreading. This included evacuating the nearby condo building and the Larga Kitikmeot boarding house, which provides living for patients travelling from Nunavut for medical purposes.

Casey Adlem, manager at the boarding home, said she was awakened by a telephone call just before 1 a.m. and arrived on the scene to help evacuate about 15 to 20 people staying in the facility. They were taken across the street to Capital Suites to stay for the night, she said.

"It was so late at night we put them up over at Capital Suites and they stayed the night there and when they woke up they came back over when we got the clearance from the fire department," she said.

In the news release, the city stated the spread of the fire was prevented and both the new condominium and boarding house were ventilated of residual smoke or carbon monoxide before occupants were allowed to return.

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